I started playing guitar when I was 13. I remember the winter Thursday night that me and my dad caught the train from Bramley into Leeds station to spend the £53 on my main Christmas present from Argos. 

The guitar was (and still is) unplayable but I played it relentlessly until I could save up for the next 'better' model. I was well into my 20's with 100's of gigs under my belt before I traded my way up towards my holy grail and even then I had to compromise on a version a few rungs down the ladder.

Throughout that time I learnt so much and worked even harder to be better at what I was doing. I used to get pissed off when you'd have a band of very young people turn up with the top spec kit costing thousands yet they were terrible. I also realise that's a 'me' problem and the kit very likely bought by their parents is no fault of the kids. We all want to give our kids a leg up where we can. 

Later on, I moved into cycling, again following suit on buying the entry level bike before riding my way to something better. Eddy Merckx said it best, 'Don't buy upgrades, ride upgrades'. The idea of achieving things through hard work. There's so many avenues to this but where do you go from a 5k bike at age 14? What does a 17 year old footballer have to prove after they sign a £80k per week 4 year contract?

Maybe it's where I am from that formed this outlook but there's always been a 'dog' inside me that struggles with people being handed things without the hard work applied to achieve. There's a romance that comes through struggle, true art comes from discomfort.

Mallin & Son wouldn't exist without that 'dog'. After years of trying many things, I took my experience of digital services and my love of fashion to create the service. Walking around the streets of Leeds approaching people in wax jackets to driving for hours each evening to hand collect jackets with a handshake. I did this because I needed the extra income and I truly believed in what I was setting out to do. 

I always had the vision of creating the service under a 'brand' name that gave me opportunities in future to make clothes and go into other channels. With no experience, lots of testing, lots of mistakes yet lots of hard work, we got there and created a business model that has thrived into it's 7th year. 

Literally from the kitchen table to being pictured on Savile Row with David Gandy. This doesn't happen to boys from LS13. 

Over the last couple of years and more so the last 12 months, more and more Instagram accounts drop on to my radar who have 'borrowed' this model to create their own version of our business. Some you'd be hard pressed to differentiate their site to ours.

It does rankle at times but then I have to reflect and be proud that we've created something so successful that's led others to follow. That's actually pretty cool. 

The dog is still there but rather than getting grumpy about it, it makes us work even harder to be better and this is good for all involved. And who knows, maybe one day I will buy that Joe Strummer Telecaster.....

Ryan x